Three Fun and Easy Toddler Frog Crafts
As stated by Akili Amina in her article “Frog Activities For Preschool Children,” three and four year olds are introduced to the frog’s lifecycle via reading and activities in the preschool setting. Why not get a jumpstart on this introduction with some fun toddler frog crafts? Moreover, these art projects also allow for the development of hand-eye coordination, exercise motor skills by requiring the grasping of smaller objects, and also offer a reinforcement of color and shape lessons. Of course, perhaps the best reason for spending an hour on one of these crafts is to simply have some quality time with the child.
Three Toddler Frog Crafts
Assuming that you are well organized and your child is ready to focus for an extended period of time, you can make any of these three toddler frog crafts in one hour or less.
Coloring Pages
Print out some of the frog themed coloring pages at the All About Frogs(1) site found below. In a pinch you may have your child use crayons, but for the full art experience it would be better to use homemade finger paints. Remember: while frogs are naturally green, there are plentiful shades of green, and allowing your child to experiment with the various kinds of green there are is a great way of making this one of the toddler frog crafts that yields multiple learning purposes. When finished, mount the frog crafts on a bigger piece of construction paper and tape it to your wall or fridge.
Plentiful Lily Pad
This is one of the great toddler frog crafts that are perfect if you have more than one child you are working with. Invest in a roll of butcher paper and fashion a giant piece of paper in the shape of a lily pad. Next, mix a number of different shades of green finger paint. Invite your children to place the palms of their hands into the finger paint and then press down hard – fingers splayed – on another piece of butcher paper.
Clean the toddlers’ hands as the paint is drying. Come back and cut out the handprints without the thumb portion. This gives you a semi round frog body with four legs. Let your children decorate the frogs. Use edibles – such as M&M’s, or gummy candy – or inedible items, like stickers, stick on goggle eyes, or pipe cleaners. Finally, attach the finished frogs to the giant lily pad. This keepsake may be proudly displayed on your child’s room’s wall.
Is That a Frog on Your Head?
For these toddler frog crafts it is a good idea to keep visors on hand. You may purchase them at the dollar store or simply reuse promotional items you may have received from a variety of businesses. Before beginning the frog crafts, make sure the visors fit on the children’s heads. Once this is accomplished, allow them to paint the visors green with the finger paints.
Once dried, use different finger paints for the eyes, nose holes, and also mouth. Attach pieces of construction paper for frog legs.
A Word of Caution
These toddler frog crafts require adult supervision at all times. Moreover, if your child has not yet outgrown the urge to put everything into the mouth, some of these toddler crafts are not appropriate for your child. Please exercise extreme caution whenever allowing the child to handle anything small enough to fit into the mouth.
Sources
Photo Credit: “Red-eyed Tree Frog (Litoria chloris)” by LiquidGhoul/Wikimedia Commons at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Red-eyed_Tree_Frog_-_Litoria_chloris_edit1.jpg
